Know the sustainable urbanisation for Africa’s transformation-agenda 2063

THE main theme for the 1st Africa Urban Forum is ‘Sustainable Urbanisation for Africa’s TransformationAgenda 2063’.

Tanzanian Ambassador to Ethiopia and the Permanent Representative of the country to the African Union (AU), Mr Innocent Shiyo  told the First Africa Urban Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that the theme is most timely and appropriate.

“It is appropriate because, as you are all aware, in September 2015, member states adopted the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with three key dimensions.

“The dimensions are economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. One year later, in October 2016, the New Urban Agenda was unanimously also adopted serving as a new vision for our cities and human settlements development.

In this context, the debates on the theme provides us with an opportunity to take stock of emerging innovative approaches, best practices and challenges in harnessing sustainable urbanisation,” said Ambassador Shiyo.

He was presenting a statement on behalf of Mr Deogratius Ndejembi, the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development at the forum.

He unveiled that like many other African countries, Tanzania is experiencing rapid urbanisation. That goes with strong implications for urban planning and environmental management toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Over the last 50 years, noted Ambassador Shiyo, Tanzania’s urban population grew substantially from 6.4 per cent in 1967 to 34.9 per cent in 2022 and is expected to increase even faster to 59 per cent in 2050, thus becoming one of the fastest urbanising countries in subSaharan Africa.

“Urbanisation has put more pressure on housing demands, infrastructure development, social services and environmental sustainability.

Like most of African Countries, Tanzania also experienced informal urbanisation but the Government has identified 3,397 informal settlements and currently 2,190 are regularised (upgraded),” noted the permanent representative.

He noted that urbanisation is significantly related to energy use and that energy insecurity is one of the hurdles currently confronted by the rapid growth of the urban population due to limited supply of clean energy in Africa.

“In most countries in subSaharan Africa, urbanisation has resulted in charcoal gaining in relative importance, while firewood declines.

Charcoal has been linked to a range of environmental and social problems including climate change, deforestation, forest degradation, increased morbidity due to indoor and outdoor air pollution,” he said.

Ambassador Shiyo noted that Africa is far behind on its goal to deliver affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all as stipulated in SDG 7.

One area in particular is clean cooking energy that has seen a source of environmental degradation particularly in Africa.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), nearly four in five people in Africa still cook their meals over open fires and traditional stoves using polluting fuels.

The lack of clean cooking energy has dire consequences for health, gender equality and the climate, contributing to premature deaths of women and children.

In may 2024, the President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched the 10-year National Clean Cooking Energy Strategy (2024–2034). Tanzania is among countries that are highly affected by climate change effects, where unsafe cooking energy is part of the problem.

Therefore, noted Ambassador Shiyo, the strategy will be a tool for collective efforts in mitigating climate change and ensuring the use of clean cooking energy among Tanzanians. Currently up to 466,000 hectares of woodland are lost annually for firewood and upwards of 33,000 people die from unsafe cooking fuel.

“In the context of rapid urbanisation and increased energy demand, there is a need for sustainable urban energy planning across a range of fuel types including charcoal, in ways that balance economic, social and environmental outcomes,” he said.

The diplomat noted that at that African Urban Forum, Africa needs to unite and mobilise support for financing Urbanisation and human settlements Development.

On the other hand, we need to support sustainable urbanisation which protect the Urban and rural environment for the future of the continent. He took the opportunity to convey greetings from Mr Ndejembi to the attendees, saying that he had wished to join them in the forum but due to exigencies of equally important duties he could not make it.

From September 4 to 6, 2024, the inaugural Africa Urban Forum was held in Ad- » The Msichana Initiative, a local organisation dedicated to empowering young women, has been at the forefront of this movement. Through the “Sauti Yetu, Nguvu Yetu” project dubbed (Our Voice, Our Strength), the organisation has reached over 200 girls across four regions, equipping them with the essential leadership skills and tools to champion girl’s rights in their communities.

The project has effectively groomed 20 young women leaders in those four regions—Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Tabora and the Coast Region.

Addressing recently to the journalists at the closing event of the first phase of the ‘Sauti Yetu,Nguvu Yetu’ project , the Executive Director of Msichana Initiative, Ms Rebeca Gyumi underscored the significance of the project saying training that has been provided will going to be the turning point of reaching many other girls in the community.

According to the organisation, 20 young women leaders have successfully reached 240 other girls as part of the groups they lead in their communities.

“In two years, participants have engaged in comprehensive workshops covering critical skills, including leadership strategies, public speaking and effective advocacy techniques,” she says.

She, however, said the training will help young women to overcome the challenges they face in the political atmosphere, especially sexual bribery.

Ms Gyumi expresses her optimism that the trained young women are motivated to vie for various leadership positions in the upcoming local government election and general election. “We want young women to understand that sexual bribery is against the Constitution and that they should have the guts to report the incident when they encounter it in various areas including political arenas,” she underlines.

Adding: “We will support them in every way possible so that we can build a generation ready to bring about change in society without relying on the same old people.”

One of the project’s beneficiaries, Ms Mwajuma Hima, who resides in Ubungo, Dar es Salaam, claims that the training inspired her to run in the next local government election.

Ms Hima plans to contest for a street representative position this year and aims to run for a councillor seat next year. “After receiving training through this project, I have gained the confidence to raise my voice and be heard in the community,” she adds.

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Another beneficiary, Ms Loveness Athuman from Tabora Region, expresses her plan to run for a councillor position in the general elections next year to tackle systemic challenges that oppress women in society.

She also adds that the training she received made her realise the extent of women’s oppression and the need for empowerment to recognise their rights.

“As a leader, I will champion the agenda and advocate for girls and women to ensure they get their rights,” she says. dis Ababa, Ethiopia, gathering key stakeholders from across the continent to advance the goals of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

The Africa Urban Forum is a continental platform that promotes sustainable development in African human settlements.

It is a platform through which governments collaborate to enhance African cities, enabling them to fulfil their potential as centres of hope, growth and prosperity.

The African Union Commission and its member-states established the Africa Urban Forum in 2022 in response to the rising consciousness of the rapid urbanisation in Africa, its opportunities, and challenges and the need to create a continental scale forum to support an inclusive and holistic approach to unlocking the potential of urbanisation in the continent.

The Harmonised Regional Framework for Implementing the New Urban Agenda in Africa, developed by the African Union Commission, jointly with UN-Habitat and UNECA serves as the main guiding framework for the deliberations of the Africa Urban Forum.

The framework aligns with the transformative vision of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and serves as a pivot for addressing urban related issues in Africa.

Convened by the African Union, the Government of Ethiopia and UN-Habitat, among others, the forum played a pivotal role in realising the vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa that is driven by its citizens and positioned as a dynamic force in the international community.

The Forum, was held under the theme ‘Sustainable Urbanisation for Africa’s Transformation – Agenda 2063’, and explored the essential role of urbanisation in achieving the objectives of Agenda 2063 and shaping the future of Africa’s cities.